MANSFIELD shoppers have been hailed for their bravery after a 27-year-old man was jailed for attacking a woman in a car park.
Javan Charles Tennant grabbed the keys to the young woman's car and jumped in to the driver's seat after grabbing her throat.
But he got out again and was restrained by a mystery 17-year-old boy after another passerby raised the alarm.
Tennant of no fixed address appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday charged with robbery, actual bodily harm and possession of Class A drugs.
He pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to four years in jail.
The attack happened in a car park off Regent Street, in Mansfield town centre, just before 3.30pm on Sunday, May 5.
Tennant's 20-year-old victim was returning to her Fiat Punto after work when he grabbed her by the throat and demanded her purse.
She refused so he grabbed her keys and forced her into the passenger seat.
She managed to escape through the passenger door, running towards another woman pleading for her help.
Tennant approached both women, posing as his victim's boyfriend, but the 46-year-old saw through his lies and challenged him.
A 17-year-old boy heard her cries and pursued Tennant. He eventually managed to restrain him on the ground, with help from another man, before police arrived and found heroin in his pocket.
Detective Constable Steve Dunn, of Mansfield CID, said: "I'd like to thank the brave residents who intervened that day, meaning we were able to make an arrest and gather most of the evidence there and then."
If this was you contact Notts Police on 101, quoting incident 560 of May 5 2013.
